


This Hope Seems Tiresome

by alphaofallcats



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Dialogue, Crying, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Explicit Language, Friendship is Magic, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I tried to be as canon compliant as possible, In Game Dialogue, M/M, Main story spoilers, Non-Linear Narrative, Post-Canon, both are valid, but yeah, didn't know that was a tag, didn't put Luna in the character tag because she's only mentioned, spoilers for end game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 06:45:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11374773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphaofallcats/pseuds/alphaofallcats
Summary: “Noct,” he said, fidgeting with the button on his glove. “Why did you bring me here?”----Prompto believed he and Noctis would be Best Friends Forever, but it turns out Forever doesn't exist.





	This Hope Seems Tiresome

**Author's Note:**

> blame my friend ilikeaoiokay on tumblr for this

Pebbles crunched under his weight when he shifted on the shore. The clear water from the small tide of the lake lapped around his ankles.

“Noct,” he said, fidgeting with the button on his glove. “Why did you bring me here?”

With a snort, Noctis cast out another line. The water rippled around the bait and then slowly smoothed over, and once the surface was flat he glanced down at his friend. “You say that like I’m going to murder you with a fish hook.”

“I meant…why me? Why not Gladio or Ignis?”

“They’re my friends.” Then he slouched and added, “but they’re also my royal advocates. I can’t tell them I don’t want to marry Luna. I know what they’ll say. They’ll tell me it’s my duty as heir to the throne to bring peace and protect my country.” He let out a breath and sounded scared and vulnerable when he said, “You’re my friend, just my friend. I don’t know what you’ll say.”

He chewed his lip in thought. “Maybe Luna feels the same? Maybe she doesn’t want to marry you either, but she’s just going to go through with it to bring peace and protect her people.”

It was quiet. Noctis’ eyes darted across Prompto’s features like he was grasping for something, searching frantically for the answers to the universe. The blonde wanted to reach up, to grab Noctis’ hand and give him what he could offer of the world. But before Prompto could move, Noctis snapped his head back to the water, eyes trained on the end of the fishing line.

“Is it okay to be in love with your best friend?” Noctis asked after a moment.

“Is Luna your best friend?”

“No.”

Prompto’s throat dried as his face pained in a grimace. His eyes clouded as they wandered back to where the bait was floating in the water, and he wished the lake would swallow him whole. 

\----

The book sat on a high shelf situated near a window in Prompto’s apartment. It was worn, with crinkled pages and a dusty cover, the red faded from the victorious sun. The new light didn’t favor the past.

Enough mementos had been burned by his own hands that he now feared touching the book. He didn’t want it to crumble into ash under the press of his fingers.

But the longer it sat there, the harder it was to ignore the ghosts that were watching him.

\----

The shiver that slipped down his spine made his body jerk. A static exploded into the air as Ardyn entered the room; it made his skin prickle and his heart jolt. It took a strenuous effort to swallow back the bile that climbed up his throat.

"Have you given up yet? Holding on to this hope seems tiresome."

Prompto grit his teeth. "I know they're looking for me."

"How can you be so sure?" Ardyn asked, pacing around the room. "Weren't you sure that he was your friend? That he _cared_ about you?"

"He does, he told me."

He had told him. On the roof of the motel, Noctis told him. Prompto bared his heart and Noctis listened and assured him he wasn't just a fourth wheel. He told Prompto he was worth something.

"He also told you he wanted to kill you."

"Shut up!"

Ardyn glanced at Prompto with eyes so soft it felt sickening. They looked unnatural, unnervingly comforting. The warmth behind them burned.

"I'm only voicing your own doubts," he said.

"They care about me!" Prompto cried. "Noctis cares, I'm his friend!"

Ardyn stopped pacing. "Friends don't push friends off trains."

Prompto sucked in a breath, looking away from the sympathetic eyes that were boring into him. He bit his lip, blinking back tears, clenching his fists so tight his wrists strained against the bonds.

"You can continue to live in the bubble you've created, one of hope and friendship, but I'm just merely trying to show you the truth."

When he felt the tears slip down his cheeks, his body snapped like a rubber band. The tension poured from him, and he was left weak and trembling.

A finger brushed the tears away, and Prompto looked up at Ardyn with bloodshot and bleary eyes.

"His enemies killed his father and his fiancé. They blinded his friend. He will never forget what they've done." The man stepped away, turning to leave the room. He gave Prompto a sad smile. "And you cannot deny who you are."

When the door to the holding cell closed, Prompto screamed, crying out into the darkness. The mark on his wrist felt heavy with defeat, a permanent reminder of the truth - a false hope, and it weighed him down.

\----

“What are you doing?”

Prompto let the last of the photos go before Gladio grabbed his collar and jerked him back. The man pushed him against the wall with a thud as Ignis stood, reaching for his walking stick.

His voice was clear as it cut over the crackling of the fire. “What’s going on?”

“He burned the photos,” Gladio growled. “He threw them in the fucking fire!”

“Prompto–”

“You fucking bastard!” Gladio’s fist landed on his jaw. “Those were ours! That was all we had left of him!”

Prompto just stood there, took the hits and let Gladio beat the crap out of him. He could taste the blood in his mouth when Gladio stopped, Ignis stilling him as he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Why did you burn them?”

He choked on a sob. “It’s not like you could see them anyway!”

\----

The rain was chilling, seeping into his clothes, making them heavy and leaving him sluggish. He wanted more than ever to reach out, to pull Noctis close to him, to plead and beg him not to go. He wanted to do so much more, but instead he looked down at his feet.

“No turning back now.”

Noctis paused and _turned_ , and it made Prompto’s chest ache. He could feel the tears falling, his throat tight and scratchy.

“Prompto. Gladio. Ignis.”

He wanted to say more.

“I leave it to you.”

He didn’t want those words to be the last he said to Noctis.

“Walk tall… my friends.”

\----

The air at the beach smelled like fish and sand and Noctis climbed back into the tent bringing salt and sweat with him. He dropped next to Prompto, smiling softly as the blonde peeked his eyes open.

“It’s early,” he whispered, voice too crusted with sleep to be any louder. He would have panicked, guessed that the only reason for Noctis to be up this early was if there were enemies nearby, but the Prince didn’t seem fussed and Ignis wasn’t anxiously barging in. “Why’re you up?”

The morning sun illuminated the Prince in a hazy glow. His blue eyes were lazily focused, flicking across Prompto’s face with a fond smile. Warm breath puffed across his cheeks as Noctis’ hand came up to brush through his hair. His fingers threaded through the locks, slowly combing out the tangles and knots from his bedhead. “Gladio and I went for a run.”

“Where’s Iggy?” he yawned.

“Specs went to look for breakfast at the dock.”

Prompto hummed in response and shivered when Noct grazed his nails against his scalp. They fell into silence, Noct continuing to brush through his hair, and Prompto’s eyes fluttered shut as he curled further under the blanket. He didn’t realize he had drifted off until a finger slipped down the slope of his nose. Noct continued and traced under his eyes, tickling lightly on his skin.

“We’ve spent so much time outside.” He shifted, rested his face in the crook of Prompto’s neck, one arm slung around his waist. It was too hot, Noctis was sticky and gross, but Prompto lay still. He tried to relax, but Noctis’ lips were at his throat when he said, “You have more freckles now.”

Prompto wasn’t sure why he blushed, but he blamed it on the heat anyway.

\----

“Oh for fuck's sake.”

Gentiana seemed unfazed and continued to hold the book out to him. “I’ve been told to give this to you,” she explained.

“Is this some kind of sick joke? What kind of fucking bastard put you up to this? That’s the diary that N– the king and the princess wrote in! What asshole thought it was a good idea to give me that piece of sh–”

“Lady Luna wanted you to have it.”

“Luna’s dead!”

The goddess stepped towards him and placed the book in his hands. Prompto glared down at it, wishing his eyes could scorch the bound pages. She said, “Your grief transcends dimensions. It can be felt echoing from your soul."

\----

“Tell me. Were you worried about me?”

\----

When night fell at Lepellieth Haven, Noctis reached across the space between them, gripping Prompto’s hand so tightly that the blonde was scared his fingers wouldn’t be able to properly hold his gun the next day.

Frowning into the darkness, he rolled closer to the other, letting go of Noctis’ hand to pull him forward and wrap his arms around him. Noctis trembled, fingers clenching into Prompto’s shirt like it was the only thing there to ground him.

It was quiet as Prompto reached a hand up, brushed through dark hair, and tried to get Noct to stop shaking. The Prince was breaking, messy and unsteady, but unwilling to wake the others, solely holding onto Prompto, letting the blonde gather him closer until the chill from the outside air was warm between them.

“He’s dead. The King is dead.”

Prompto didn’t have the heart to correct him, he just let the silence spill between them. When Noctis fell asleep, then he whispered.

“Your father, Noct. Your father is dead.”

\----

Prompto opened the book. He flicked passed the old messages, eyes barely registering Noctis’ and Luna’s handwriting, until he reached the last page. He dropped the book and fell to his knees with sobs pressed behind his gritted teeth. His chest felt like it had been ripped open, like someone had reached forward, cracked his ribs and pulled him apart one by one until he was far too broken to even breathe.

The image of the photograph taped to the last page burned in his mind. Noctis had taken that with him, tucked it in his pocket before he went to fight Ardyn, before he went to sit on the throne, before he went away.

He reached out for the book again, ignoring the burn that seared through his veins. Neat script lined the bottom of the page.

_You shouldn’t fight with the past. You should remember it._

“But I don’t want to,” he whispered, not trusting his voice. “That’s why I burned the other photos.”

\----

“You think I just make time for any old loser?”

He tried to laugh, but even Noctis could tell it was forced.

“Seriously, though, thanks for making time for this loser.”

\----

Prompto’s eyes shot open, wide with panic. Noctis immediately stopped shaking him once he realized the sleep unclouded from Prompto’s eyes. Prompto glanced around the room, noticing that Ignis and Gladio were gone. The sun’s rays were peeking through the curtains of their hotel room, casting the man hovering over him in a sliver of light. Prompto could barely make out the muted buzz of Altissia’s streets coming from the open window over Noctis’ ragged breathing.

He looked up, and Noctis’ eyes were darting across his features, like the Prince was grasping for something, searching frantically for the answers to the universe. The blonde reached and grabbed Noctis’ hand.

“Noct,” he breathed.

“Prompto. You’re my best friend.”


End file.
